Cue3Go!

Issue 23, 2023

Techie Tip of the Week

REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS

Only a small percentage of the students in your high school tech theatre program will actually go on to make some aspect of technical theatre their career, but the skills all students learn in tech theatre are transferable to a wide variety of jobs.  I have a favorite quote that I always hang on the tech booth wall of any theatre that I work in and it reads: 

“An actor without techies is a naked person standing in the dark trying to emote. 

A techie without actors is a person with marketable skills.”

Here’s a list of professions to share with your admin:

High school technical theatre students who do go on to work in the Entertainment Industry are not just “skilled labor” but leaders, innovators, collaborators. Designers, managers and technicians in the Entertainment industry are the backbone of every event our society. We often think of them in live theatre, sitcoms and movies, but they also work for:

political rallies,

sporting events,

concerts,

documentaries,

radio programs,

Olympic games,

amusement parks,

conferences,

tradeshows,

press conferences,

circuses,

museums…

For students who may not go on to pursue a degree or career in the entertainment industry, the transferable skills and knowledge learned in technical theatre are relevant to a wide variety of careers that have similar knowledge bases and practices as technical theatre such as:

architecture,

construction,

engineering,

science,

people management,

project management,

art,

technology,

computer drafting and design,

computer programming,

robotics…

Here are some related areas of interest that my tech theatre students have been interested in or have gone on to work in: 

physics,

photography,

engineering,

construction,

computer programming,

CAD,

art,

graphic design,

website design.

Those that have chosen to work in the theatre industry have got themselves jobs as:

professional lighting technicians,

technical directors,

sound engineers,

lighting designers,

projectionists,

stage managers,

teachers

and more.

This editorial is the express opinion of Beth Rand, and is not intended for substitution for professional advice regarding your specific situation or circumstances.

Leveling-Up

Online courses for school theatre teachers and staff

to find out more about the courses please visit:

Theatre Management Training Course

Theatre Management Tutorials

Lighting and Safety Courses

Safety Webinar for Students

Dear Techie,

I am currently in the process of making a proposal to my administration to add a technical theatre class to our program at my school, and I am trying to come up with a syllabus that outlines and details the various activities and skills that can be practiced in this class. Being a middle school, our class, obviously, won't be as extensive as the high school level is, but I feel there are things I can do to introduce these students to technical theatre. We have a lot of students who are interested in learning this, but my knowledge is limited in what to teach. In my intro class, I teach costume and set design, but we all know that technical theatre involves much more than just that. Thanks for any advice!

Planning Ahead in FL

Dear Planning Ahead,

My advice - “design backwards.” 

It’s like when someone says ‘we want to make a cake’.  And then they are provided with 6 oz.s flour, 2 lb.s of sugar, 1 egg, 3 pints of vanilla, a teaspoon of oil, 12 bars of cooking chocolate (because who doesn’t like chocolate), and just in case you wanted cherry icing, use the sugar you already have and here’s 3 drops of cherry extract.  Yes, these are all the ingredients with which to make a cake, but nobody asked the person who is going to make the cake exactly what type of cake they were going to make - which would not only determine which ingredients are needed, but also how much of each ingredient. 

It’s hard to advise as to what should be in your curriculum for the same reasons – we know you want to make a cake, but first we need to know what type of cake, and what supplies do you currently have in order to make it. For instance, you can teach the theory of light all you want, but if you don’t have a lighting system, then the students can’t apply it to the real-life situation of a play.  You can teach flat building and paint texturing techniques, but what if you have nowhere to build sets?  You can teach about sound waves and feedback theory, but what if you have no mics and no sound board for the students to experience what that’s all about in reality.

So my point here being - plan backwards.  Your admin is more likely to be in agreement if you make the activities age appropriate, make the activities meaningful in regards to what equipment and supplies you already have in your facility, and make them apply to real life – will what they’re learning be able to be translated into what needs doing towards the success of your school plays (admin only tend to appreciate the outcome of tech theatre, not the process).

This all said, I’ve worked with a lot of middle school students (some of whom have gone on to be ‘lifers’ in the entertainment industry), and while yes, they are a bit more “full of energy” than high school students, come opening night and the whole show is being run by them…well, the proof is in the pudding (or the cake).

Submit your Dear Techie questions to [email protected].  

I love using our theatre’s trap door...

...it’s just a stage I’m going through.

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Submit your Bad Theatre Joke or Funnies to [email protected].

It is PRESETT's mission to provide information to assist in endeavors for safe and functional operations of school theatres. However, PRESETT is not a safety consultant or professional, and any information provided or advocated is not intended to supplement, not supersede, industry safety training. Always consult a theatre safety specialist about your specific situation or circumstances.